Breath of Fire 1 - Alan and Cerl Forever
by DynoStretch
Summary: The story of two people separated by prejudice who have now been handed a second chance at life; one of whom learns to defy fear and hatred to do something truly important, and the friends who help her realize that. Alan/Cerl along with some Ryu/Nina on the side.


**Hello, DynoStretch here with my first piece of Breath of Fire fanfiction. This game has always been special to me, as it was my first JRPG which also got me into the genre. This story takes place during the events of the first game, shortly after the heroes collect the Time Key and restore Nina's memories, and focuses on the fate of two particular characters.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The town of Carmen was a quaint little place, really only known for two things, the genius alchemist known as Dr. Watz, and a large tower that overlooked the area known as Tock, which was said to have kept the secrets of time itself.

A group of eight travelers arrived into the village, a rather curious group consisting of a hodge podge of various species from all around the land; a light dragon warrior named Ryu, a bird-winged wyndian princess named Nina, a wolven Wolba of of the forest named Bo, a human thief named Karn, a maillonian fishmerchant named Gobi, an iron ogre blacksmith giant named Ox, a half-snake sorceress named Bleu, and a young mole man named Mogu.

The villagers all couldn't help but stare at the eight, as such a strange group was uncommon, especially in a isolated place like Carmen which consisted entirely of humans.

In reality, the eight warriors had been to this village many times before, it's just that none of the villagers were aware of it. There was a great crisis going on in the village some time ago, due to the tower of Tock being misused by a cruel general of a group known as the Dark Dragons.

The general was known as Cerl, the lone woman of the Dark Dragon's most elite soldiers. She had attempted to abuse the power of the gods to freeze and manipulate time itself as punishment for the villagers of Carmen for exiling her from the village long ago.

Ironically, the crisis was ended by Cerl herself, who developed a change of heart after her childhood friend Alan showed up to convince her to change her ways. Despite the discrimination she had suffered from the people of Carmen so long ago, Alan proved himself to still be her friend after all that time. When the group had been attacked by the Dark Dragon Lieutenant Goda, Cerl fought him off to protect Alan, Ryu and the others, but a strange time anomaly occurred, and when the heroes came back to check on the two, Cerl and Alan had vanished.

"It's great to see the people are okay now!" Nina stepped ahead of the group and looked around, "It's like the effect of time on them never happened!"

"Can't say the same for you." Karn spoke up, "I still can't get over what happened to you."

Nina was more then a little annoyed at the thief. Shortly after what happened with Cerl, the group returned to Tock in order to fix the time paralyzing effects Cerl had done, when Nina had seemingly fixed the situation, a time warp opened up and she was sucked inside. The group followed after her and soon came to see her again, only now she had mysteriously aged from a teenager into a young adult.

"Hmph!" Nina protested, "I've only gotten a few years older! Besides, thanks to this I can get us to Scandre where the emperor of the Dark Dragons are!"

She then looked a little sheepish, and turned to Ryu, who was watching her.

"Y-You aren't weirded out by this, are you, Ryu?"

"Nah, you're still the Nina we all know." Ryu grinned, "If anything you look... um... a lot pret- erm, beau-..." he rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly red as he was searching for the right words, "Uh, stronger! Yeah, stronger!"

Nina couldn't help herself but to turn red at Ryu's awkward words, while the others were either grinning ear to ear or laughing their heads off at the two of them. The group had always believed there was something close between their leader and the first companion he made on his journey, and it seemed Nina's change into an adult only made the two notice each other more now.

Before things could get anymore awkward between Ryu and Nina, they heard some laughter. They turned to see some children running around playing together, among them was a young brown haired kid standing beside a shy blonde haired girl.

"Wait a minute..." Nina squinted at the two kids and pondered, "Do those two look familiar to you guys?"

The kids then ran up to the brown haired boy and the blonde girl, the latter of which hid behind the boy.

"Hey, show us that trick you do!" one of the kids said.

"Yeah, we wanna see it!" piped up another.

"I... I..." the blonde girl buried her face into the brown-haired boy's shoulder.

"It's okay, show them!" he assured her, "You don't have to be afraid."

The girl nervously nodded and stepped out from behind him. She closed her eyes and focused, and in a flash of light, she has gone through an usual transformation. While her head and body were the same, the rest of her looked much more different. Her arms were now pinkish and insect like, while her waist was surrounded by a small clump of animal fur, and growing out from under there was a purple skinned quadrupedal demon body, somewhat like a quadrupedal dragon of sorts.

The kids were in shock and awe of the girl's new form, they all started asking questions and trying to poke at her, but the boy did everything he could to keep them from violating her personal space. Some of the more elderly people in the village either looked in horror or with disgusted glares, trying their best not to look directly at the girl, then there were the younger adults who seemed to just shrug it off.

Meanwhile, the eight heroes jaws all practically dropped to the ground upon seeing the girl's power.

"It- it's her, that Dark Dragon general!" Gobi exclaimed, "What the halibut happened?!"

The group weren't sure what to say, but they all agreed they had to clarify what they just saw. The girl had just changed back as the eight warriors walked over to the kids. The others ran off at the sight of the warriors, but the brown-haired boy and the blonde girl just stared up at them, the boy quickly stepping in front of the girl in protection of her.

"W-Who are you guys...?" the boy asked, as the girl peeked over his shoulder.

"Alan... and Cerl?" Is that you two?" Nina stepped up to the front of the group and knelt down at them.

"What? H-How do you know our names? Who are you?" asked Alan, "You guys aren't here to hurt Cerl, are you?!"

"Well maybe not..." Karn said smugly, "Unless you're willing to pay-"

Karn's words were quickly silenced by Bo, Ox and Bleu all collectively bashing him upside the head.

"It's... okay," Nina smiled, "We won't hurt you or Cerl, in fact we're actually warriors fighting against the Dark Dragons."

"T-the Dark Dragons?" Cerl exclaimed, "I've heard of them, those guys are really strong and dangerous..."

"Well, we're pretty strong ourselves!" Ox grinned proudly, flexing an arm, "We're not about to let them hurt anyone here or anywhere!"

"Indeed," Bo nodded, "The eight of us have traveled together to defeat them all and bring peace to this land."

"You're all friends...?" Cerl asked curiously, "But you're all so different from each other... a bird-winged girl, a doggy, a fishie, a snake lady, a creepy little imp..."

"Who you calling an imp?!" exclaimed Karn.

"Probably the guy who just assumed she was talking about him." laughed Bleu.

"Shut up snake lady!" Karn shouted back.

"Nah, we may all look different," Ryu said to the children, "But we share the belief that this world needs to be saved from bad guys, it's what brought all of us together, the desire to protect this world!"

"Protect..." muttered Cerl.

"Well I guess you guys aren't bad people..." Alan sighed, "I'm sorry, but a lot of the old people around here don't like Cerl very much ever since she learned how to become her other form. I just need to watch out for her... She's my best friend."

"Don't say that," Cerl said, "You're embarrassing me!"

The two of them bid the group goodbye and ran off together to go meet up with the other kids.

"...It's definitely them, but what do you suppose happened?" asked Bo.

"I've been asking myself that for a while now." said a new voice. Everyone turned to see a familiar face, a tall older man in a green coat with a black monstrance and small beard, along with bizarre hair that resembled a palm trees leaves. "Fine to see you folks again, I see your friend has recovered."

"Oh, it's Dr. Watz." Ryu said, "Thanks again for the tonic!"

"Yes," Nina said, "It did a great job restoring my memories."

The two of them wire referring to a case of amnesia Nina had developed after her trip through time that had caused her to age a number of years.

"Yes, yes," Dr. Watz said, "I think I'm more thankful to the lot of you, this whole circumstance has given me a lot more information on the strange things going on around here, and what happened to those two." he said, gesturing to Alan and Cerl.

"Huh?"

* * *

The group soon found themselves at Watz's lab, where he handed them out some cups of tea as he explained what had happened.

"It was some time after the eruption over at the tower of Tock," Watz started, "that those two children arrived at the village. They were cold and hungry, so the village was very accepting of bringing them in. All the two seem to remember is their names, that they were friends, and that this place was their home. In fact, I seem to be the only one here in the village who even remembers their past now."

"You're the only one?" asked Nina, "What about the other villagers?"

"I'm not certain, but just like Alan and Cerl, I think the events that conspired over at Tock has caused their minds to grow hazy of their original existence. The only reason I remember them now is because I helped myself to a small sip of the tonic I prepared for you miss." Dr. Watz said to Nina.

"So why are they pint-sized now?" Karn asked.

"I had my theories, but I think more now then ever that the events in Tock created some form of time anomaly, and caused them to go back in time to when they were children." Watz explained.

"I-is that even possible?" Mogu asked.

"It's not out of the question," Bleu brought up, "Nina here is proof that such a thing is possible with the power of Tock and the Time Key."

"Yes, I see you were thinking exactly what I was." Watz said to the snake sorceress.

"So what's going to happen to the two of them?" Ryu asked with concern, "Cerl joined the Dark Dragons after she was exiled from this village before, what if the villagers try to banish her again?"

"You won't have to worry about that." Dr. Watz said, "I'll be keeping an eye on them from now on, raising them like they were my own. Despite losing their memories of Cerl, the youth of this village before have now grown into adults, and are far more accepting of her then my generation back when she was exiled." he smiled lightly, "Not to mention she has her best friend by her side, and the two seem even closer then when they were all those years ago. I believe she'll be well off now."

"That's a relief to hear." Nina said.

The group thanked Dr. Watz for the information and decided to stay in town for a few days to rest for the final battle against the Dark Dragon leader, Emperor Zog.

The children quickly grew attached to the eight warriors, Ox in particular got along well with the kids, the rest showed off their various tricks and skills, including Ryu's power to become a dragon and Nina becoming a bird, and the group only had to catch Karn trying to loot the houses a few times. Some of the older folks were pretty thrown off by the eight warriros, but didn't try to say anything.

* * *

"Your bird form is so pretty..." Cerl said to Nina one day.

"Huh?" Nina asked, looking down to Cerl.

"I always feel so different from everyone else around here because of my power, but Mr. Ryu is really cool with his dragon form, and you're so pretty as a bird, you're like an angel!" Cerl smiled with bright eyes.

'I cant believe this is that same girl who was a Dark Dragon general...' Nina thought to herself, "Well thank you Cerl, your form is very lovely as well."

"I-I don't know about that..." Cerl said sadly, "I look more like a creepy monster then anything... some of the kids say I'm a bug lion thing... and the older grown ups just mutter mean things about me when they think I can't hear them..."

"Don't say that," Nina said, "There's a beauty to everyone, and you have to show that to them! If they're weirded out or afraid of you, then you just have to prove them there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"I do..?" Cerl asked.

"She's right," Ryu said walking to them, "When I first learned how to become a dragon, I was worried about what my team would think of me, but they accepted me just the same. You have friends here that will back you up no matter what the others say, and someday you'll get strong and show everyone what you're capable of!"

"Get strong...?" muttered Cerl, she paused on that note , then nodded, "Okay, thank you both!" she said smiling brightly, "You two are really nice people, maybe someday you can get married!"

Ryu and Nina practically faulted to the ground upon hearing Cerl blurt that out.

* * *

Eventually it was time for the group to press on to Scandre. They bid the village farewell, but before they could leave...

"Mr. Ryu, Ms. Nina, wait!"

Everyone turned to see Cerl running up to them with Alan alongside her.

"Hey, there you are." Ryu grinned, "We thought you weren't going to show up."

"I-I just wanted to tell you something..." Cerl said, "You guys, you're fighting to save this world from the Dark Dragons, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... I just wanted to let you know, I'm going to grow up and get really strong!" Cerl said, "And when I do, I'm going to use my power to protect the village, the grownups, the other kids and Alan! I'm going to prove the old people don't need to be afraid of me! I wanted to thank you for helping me decide this!"

"Wow, that's pretty noble of you," Nina said smiling, "I think you'll be a great protector someday!"

Alan nodded, "Cerl's gotten a lot braver now after you guys showed up. I'm going to stay by her and protect her in my own ways!"

The light dragon warriors all saw Cerl and Alan off and waved goodbye as the two of them ran off to go play with the other kids.

"It's so nice..." Nina said happily, "It's like the two of them have been given a second chance at life."

"I'm sure things will go better for them now." Ryu said, "She has a newfound resolve to watch over the village. Speaking of which, we all have something to protect ourselves, right?"

"Yes," Bo said, "We're not about to let the Dark Dragons win this war, we have to succeed so Cerl can see her future come to fruition."

"Alright then, to Scandre!" Gobi shouted.

The eight them cheered out and went off on their way to face the final battle.

Not long after that, the Dark Dragons finally met their downfall at the hands of the eight warriors. The world was finally saved, and the eight of them returned home...

* * *

_Ten years later..._

"Help! Someone please help me!" a traveler shouted as he ran into he village of Carmen.

"What's going on?" asked a Carmen villager who had been at the entrance at the time.

"A-A monster attacked me..." gasped the traveler, "I ran as fast as I could but-"

His explanation as cut off by a screeching sound as the two looked to see a giant plant monster known as a Flower X crawling towards them on it's roots.

"You moron!" shouted the villager, 'You brought a Flower X to this town?!"

"I'm sorry!" the traveler said, "I didn't know what to do!"

The Flower X opened it's buds and screeched once more at the two men, ready to take them both as it's next meal, before a new voice shouted out.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

The two of them turned to see a new person walk up to them. She was a tall woman with long blonde hair, and wearing light armor.

"W-Woah, she's beautiful..." said the traveler, but his daze was interrupted by the Flower X coming at them screeching.

"Ugh, can I ever get a rest around here?" Cerl rolled her eyes and put a hand to her head. She focused herself and her body gave off a bright light, when the light went away, Cerl now stood in her fully grown chimera form, her bug-like arms where now more like scythes, the fur mane around her waist was long and flowing, and her demon body had hardened skin like armor, and it's feet had sharp razor claws on them.

"S-She's a monster?!" exclaimed the traveler, now even more afraid then before.

The Flower X saw Cerl standing before it, and it lunged at her, but Cerl leaped forward and with a few quick slices of her scythe arms, reduced the Flower X to shreds, the traveler's mouth was agape with shock as pieces of the plant fell to the ground around him.

"She's not a monster." said the villager grinning, "She's our protector!"

"Well what's done is done, you two take care now." Cerl said, seeing off the villager and traveler.

"Hey Cerl!" called out a voice from a nearby cottage, "I think Sena wants you!"

Cerl smiled lightly as her body glowed with light and changed back into her human form. She walked off to the cottage, where standing in the doorframe was a young man with brown hair, holding a baby in his arms.

Cerl took her daughter from Alan and cuddled the cooing baby with a beautiful smile on her face. The once disgraced and twisted general of the Dark Dragons now stood as a protector of Carmen, a loving mother, and wife to the most special person in her life, the man who accepted her even in what was once the darkest moment of her former life.

And she at that moment once again mentally thanked the brave warriors who made all this possible for her.

* * *

"By the way," Alan said, "I received a letter from Ryu, it said that he and Nina are already expecting their next child soon!"

"Well, that's great." Cerl smiled, "We'll have to make time to visit the two... But while we're on the subject, don't you think we should be catching up to them?" she added with a little smirk.

"Ahaha," Alan said nervously, "Isn't it a little too soon for another? Ryu and Nina already have three, and they had a good eight years ahead of us to do that..."

"It's never too soon for anything." Cerl gave her husband a kiss, "Time is precious and must always be savored, even if our love itself is forever."

* * *

**Well this was a pretty fun story to write, drop me a line if you enjoyed it!**


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